Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli (author of The Prince) were close friends.
Lefty Genius
Leonardo’s notebook writing famously runs from right to left across the page, with its letters reversed, best read with the help of a mirror.
Scholars have debated why Leonardo wrote this way. One theory is that he wanted to protect his ideas from the prying eyes of those who might copy them. But that’s unlikely, since he was planning to publish his ideas in a book. Another is that he was protecting himself, that his heretical ideas could be used against him if they could be made known. Also unlikely, as he wasn’t much more heretical than many of his time. But the most plausible reason is that he was left-handed, and pulling the pen across the page from right to left wouldn’t smudge the ink. I know that doesn’t explain the reversed letters. Chalk that up to his bizarre genius.
Experts who evaluate the authenticity of unsigned Renaissance drawings that are attributed to Leonardo first check the direction of the shading. If it doesn’t slant downward from left-to-right, chances are it’s not a Leonardo. I wondered about this downward left-to-right slant when I read it in Robert Wallace’s The World of Leonardo (page 31). Why would a leftie push the pen from left down to right, a sure way to smudge the ink? But then I realized he must have pulled the stroke upward, moving the pen diagonally from right up toward the left. When you’re shading, of course it makes sense to start at the object in the foreground and draw your shade lines away from the subject. Can you see how they slant upwards toward the left in these beautiful sketches? I could stare at Leda’s face all day.
Detail from Vitruvian man notebook page, 1490
Study of Arms and Hands, 1474, a sketch by da Vinci popularly considered to be a preliminary study for the painting “Lady with an Ermine“
”’Study for the Head of Leda”’ (c. 1505 – 1507)
That’s Swell
In 1800 London’s population was approximately 860,000 people. By 1900, it was approximately 6.5 million.
Mais Oui
After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, French became the official language of England for 300 years.
Up-Do
In 1827, Muhammad Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, gave a giraffe as a present to King Charles X of France. It took two years to move the animal 4000 miles from Central Africa to Paris. Zarafa, the female giraffe, was such a sensation that carriage traffic paused for a full day, and huge crowds gathered to catch sight of her. Zarafa sparked a fad for the coiffure à la girafe, which lasted over a year. Women’s hair was supported by wire frames into high topknots.
Nicolas Hüet, the Younger (1770–1828)
Study of the Giraffe Given to Charles X by the Viceroy of Egypt, 1827
Fashion Plates 1827-8 from Ackermann’s Repository
AGASSE, Jacques-Laurent “The Nubian Giraffe” 1827
All American
Because America was at war with Germany in WWI, hamburgers (named after the German city of Hamburg) were renamed Salisbury steaks. Frankfurters were called “liberty sausages,” and dachshunds became “liberty dogs.”
Sin-day
During Puritan times, to be born on Sunday was considered a sign of great sin.
No, really.
After Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, the Prince Regent and soon-to-be George IV (1762-1830) told Jane Austen that if she “had any other novel forthcoming, she was quite at liberty to dedicate it to the Prince.” In 1815 she dedicated Emma to him.
Source: Mental Floss March/April 2013 page 19
Hemmed In
I’ve blogged before about hobble skirts, which became fashionable around 1910, when a designer named Paul Poirot introduced a long, slim skirt that was cut straight to the ankle without a vent. They forced women to walk with tiny, mincing steps as though their shoelaces were tied together. One article in the New York Times from 1910 recounts two women engaging in a hobble skirt race down 43rdStreet, between Fifth and Madison.
By 1912, “Hobble Skirt” cars for city trams could be found in cities around the world. These cars rose only eight inches above street level.
Most women who actually had to walk from place to place modified their hobble skirts, adding a slight vent in the back, or—shockingly—raising the hem to allow the wearer to walk and board a tram car. I found these pictures at the Library of Congress, dated 1913.
Poiret dress: Library of Congress Persistent URL: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004681962/
Call Number: LC-USZ62-56679
women getting on/off a streetcar 1913: Library of Congress Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.13625
Call Number: LC-B2- 2765-3
“Getting On Broadway Car” 1913: Library of Congress persistent URL: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96511943/resource/
Call Number LC-USZ62-91533 (b&w film copy neg.)
“Fashions at Trouville, 1913” Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.14391
Fresh Pepper?
In 410 A.D. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, demanded that Rome give him three thousand pounds of pepper as payment to spare the city from sacking.